UNL will host the sixth annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking Oct. 9-11 at Embassy Suites Lincoln, 1040 P St.
The conference is formatted for those who have research results or ideas in the area of human trafficking. It can also be for individuals who wish to inform peers of non-governmental or governmental organization or who desire to fund anti-trafficking efforts and research.
Dwayne Ball, associate professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration, and Anna Shavers, professor in the College of Law, are co-chairs of the conference.
The conference keynote will be delivered by Victor Malarek, author of “The Natashas: Inside the Global Sex Trade,” and “The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It.” Malarek will also give a free, public lecture on sex trafficking from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Gaughan Multicultural Center’s Unity Room. Malarek has been a journalist for four decades and is senior investigative reporter for the Canadian television network CTV.
Other public events include:
Legal Advocacy for Trafficking Victims, a pre-conference panel discussion led by Shavers, professor of citizenship law in the University of Nebraska’s College of Law. The event is noon, Oct. 9 in the College of Law’s auditorium. Panelists will include Robin Haarr, a professor of justice studies at Eastern Kentucky University who conducts research on women and children’s issues; Amber Schlote, an Omaha Police officer who investigates child exploitation; and Stephen O’Meara, a former assistant United States attorney who helped found the FBI-led Omaha Child Exploitation Task Force.
International Human Trafficking, a lecture by Haarr, professor of justice studies at Eastern Kentucky University. The talk is 4:30 to 6 p.m. Oct 9 in the Nebraska Union Auditorium. Haarr recently visited Nepal to discuss human trafficking issues and the challenges associated with effectively building awareness, prevention and prosecution programs in Kathmandu, Hetauda and Birgunj.
We Are More Than Our Stories, a discussion led by sex trafficking survivors. The event is 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Nebraska Union Heritage Room. The discussion will be led by Kristy Childs, Sandi Pierce and Jeri Williams. Starting at age 12, Childs was trafficked as a prostitute for more than two decades. In 2000, she founded Veronica’s Voice, an organization dedicated to ending commercial sexual exploitation in the United States. Pierce is a research scientist who works with the University of Minnesota’s University Research and Community Education Center to define juvenile sex trafficking in Minneapolis. Pierce is a survivor of child and adult sex trafficking. Williams is diversity and civic leadership coordinator for Portland, Ore. She is the survivor of a violent, gang-controlled pimping operation and has helped launch a support group for sexually exploited women.
Registration is required to attend the entire conference, although the four public events at the university are free. Cost is $300 general admission, $195 for University of Nebraska faculty and staff, and $95 for NU students. To register, click here.
For more information about the conference, go to http://humantrafficking.unl.edu/.
